One Fine Wire
by wavering-affections
Summary: Falling in love is hard on the knees. Paddison.
1. Chapter 1

**I have these two stories, and they start out the same, but I like this one much better. I have a clearer idea on where it's going, so basically I think I'm going to stop writing the other one, and focus solely on this. Let me know what you think :)**

What Pete needed was a plan, and as he stood on Addison Montgomery's porch, knocking on her door at eleven o'clock at night in the slightly chilly Santa Monica air, he suddenly realized he in fact had no plan. She was Addison freaking Montgomery. She wasn't used to non-committed, Harley Davidson riding, wife hating, quacks showing up on her doorstep at late hours. And so, understandably, when she made her way to the door, looking beautiful, Pete fought the urge to do two things, stare in awe, and run the other direction as fast as he could. He really just wasn't the romantic gestures kind of guy; he wasn't really any type of guy other than the kind who stood up gorgeous women for no apparent reason. And he had no clue how to articulate the realization he had made. He had seen the way Sam had fought for Naomi, and he knew in that second that he wanted that, with her. He was seriously considering just leaving, but the second he saw her greenish blue irises boring straight into him with a slightly annoyed look on her face he was hooked, he had to tell her why he had showed up.

"Pete!" she said half shocked, half angered, "What the hell are you doing here?"

"I, ugh, well I needed to talk to you."

And that's when Pete saw _him_. It was Kevin, and he had two glasses of wine in his hands. Pete bet he'd just poured them, ready to have a mind-blowing evening with the one woman he hadn't been able to keep out of his thoughts. It wasn't normal, he barely knew her, but there was just… something different, something special, something utterly perfect for him, and it scared the shit out of him.

"Hey, Pete right?" that cop asked, maybe a little smugly, maybe Pete was imagining things.

"Yes, Kaleb right?"

"No Pete, it's Kevin." Addison interjected, "and you still haven't said exactly why you're here."

"It's nothing, it can wait. I'll… I'll just see you at work tomorrow."

Pete walked away from Addison's house feeling a bit deflated, but, hey, at least now he could think of the kind of gesture that would make Addison forget there had ever even been a Hot Cop.

The next morning at work was tough. She looked happy. I had hours of sex last night happy. That really killed him. Plus he still hadn't thought of a way to set his plan in action. He'd gone home the night before fully intending on coming up with a grand scheme. He'd started making a list of things she liked when he realized he didn't know anymore than ten. He knew she liked babies, and coffee, and surgery, and expensive clothes, and well expensive everything, but that was as far as he got. He hardly knew her at all. And that was when it hit him. He needed to become her friend. Someone she could put all of her trust in. Someone she knew would never hurt her. That was the only way she could ever truly open her heart to him he reasoned. So he'd come into work completely confident but now he couldn't keep his eyes off her at the morning meeting. She'd worn a dress that hugged her curves and somehow made her look even more beautiful than he was used to. It was severely distracting. When the meeting was over he casually walked over to her. Or he tried to look casual. It was more of a direct beeline for her.

"Hey Pete," she said warmly.

At least she wasn't yelling.

"Hey Addison, how was your date with Officer Manly last night?"

So much for playing it smooth.

"It was fine, thanks for the interruption, it was greatly appreciated."

Well shit.

"Yea, about that…"

"Pete I need some help on a consult," Sam said from across the hall.

"It's okay Pete. Go, we can talk about whatever it is later."

"Alright Addie, see you later."

He probably shouldn't have let the Addie thing slip. It was bad for his cover.


	2. Chapter 2

Pete was nervous. He'd decided what to do. He was going to ask to go to lunch with him. It would be a nice, casual lunch between friends. Yes, definitely just between friends. Friends who were really more like acquaintances that were getting to know each other. Oh, and they occasionally kissed. He stood leaning on the frame of her office doorway for a good minute before she pulled herself out of her work long enough to glance up at him.

"Hi, how has your day been?" Addison said with a little caution. They still hadn't discussed his mystery appearance at her house the night before.

"It's been fine, nothing out of the ordinary, but, hey, I was thinking we should go get some lunch, I know this place, and we could perfect the whole 'friend' thing…"

"Pete, you know I'd love to, but I kind of already made plans. I'm so sorry. Tomorrow I promise."

"With Kevin?"

"Yea, my lunch plans are with Kevin."

"Do you like him?"

"I could, I think. He's a good man. He's seems perfect in theory for me, but I don't really know him yet so we'll have to see I guess."

"Did you have sex with Kevin?"

"Pete!"

"Just asking…"

"Well I'm not telling. That's personal."

"We're friends Addison. Friends tell each other those sorts of things."

He had a mocking edge to his voice.

"As my friend you're going to have to respect my privacy and accept that there are some details you simply aren't gonna get. Now I have to go or I'll be late, but ugh… pick a place for tomorrow. I'll be there."

Her lunch date had been good. Kevin was friendly and polite and chivalrous and funny and all the things a woman could ask for. She liked him. Or she was getting there. She wasn't the type of woman who threw herself into things headfirst. Well, except for Mark. He was the eternal exception to her rules. She wanted to take things slow with Kevin, and he seemed to want the same especially considering that he had been the one to suggest that he left her house last night before things went too far. They'd kissed goodnight and he'd gone. She had definitely had minimal butterflies, but they were there at least. It was nothing like when she kissed Pete. It was warm and sensual and deep and perfect. They were everything that kisses should be. God, she really needed to stop thinking about Pete. They were friends, and it wasn't appropriate to think those thoughts about friends. Addison had lived her whole life up until the "M" word in utter appropriateness. She never dated inappropriate men. Why break that rule on a man who was the very embodiment of inappropriate. She simply wouldn't go there, but that didn't stop her from wondering exactly what the nature of their lunch… thingy was. And it definitely didn't stop her from consulting Sam about it. He would be able to decipher this mess. He had the right boy parts. So when the elevator doors opened the first place she headed was to his office. She quickly thanked God when she saw Sam was sitting alone doing paperwork.

"Hey Sam, do you have time to talk?"

"Of course Addie, what's up?"

"If a man asked you to go to a friend lunch with him, what does that mean?"

"I guess it depends on the man. If I were to ask you to a friend lunch, it would be a lunch between friends, but if it were a man you were involved with or might potentially be involved with then I'm not sure. I'm not that smart."

"I'm sure your patients would be glad to hear that."

"Let's not mention it to them."

"Will do Sam, and really thanks."

"Anytime Addie, see you later."

She walked out more confused than ever. She shouldn't even be thinking about Pete, and she shouldn't already be planning her outfit for tomorrow. She should be thinking about her date with Kevin tonight, but she wasn't.


	3. Chapter 3

**I'm already working on chapter four, and I have a definite direction in which this is going :) enjoy  
Also, please leave me some feedback, what you like, what you don't like, what I could do better. Thanks!**

"So Addison, tell me about Seattle, why did you leave?" Kevin questioned at dinner that night. He had selected a high-end Japanese restaurant that he figured would be right up Addison's alley. It was eloquent yet unique, and it definitely didn't have a snobby atmosphere. He just knew she would love it. He had made it his own little personal mission to take her to all his favorite places in town considering she probably didn't know her way around too well yet. She had mentioned during their first date that she had just moved to Santa Monica from Seattle, but she hadn't told him exactly why she had decided to leave.

"Well…" she paused while trying to think of the right words to say, "it rained a lot," she finished with a slightly bitter laugh. Kevin probably didn't pick up on it though. Only someone who knew her extremely well would.

"I left for many reasons. Mostly because I didn't get a promotion I wanted and I decided that I needed a fresh start." Addison said as she gazed at Kevin's selection of restaurant. She really loved it. So far he'd taken her to a fabulous bar, a nice cozy lunch place, and now this. He had excellent taste.

"I've always wanted to take a road trip up the coast that ended in Seattle, it seems beautiful, but I never seem to find the time." Kevin answered not addressing the matter of why she left. He discovered she was always pretty vague when he asked her personal questions and he figured that there was probably a story, but he didn't want to push her.

"Oh, believe me, it's definitely worth doing once. The first time I came down here I did a road trip. At the time it didn't seem too enjoyable but looking back it was a fun experience."

"We should take one together," Kevin said smiling. He liked the idea of doing things in the future with Addison. She was beautiful, smart, kind, and funny. He didn't know what else you could ask for in a woman. Their dishes came and they ate in a comfortable silence.

"Tell me what you think love should be," he stated suddenly.

She stalled.

"Oh God, I don't know. It should be a lot of things I suppose. You tell me first."

"Okay well, for me, love isn't about passion. Not from the beginning. Passion leads to tricky, complicated things. Love should be about comfort. It should be about knowing a person inside out, and from that comfort finding passion."

"Wow, that's… deep," Addison said a bit dumbfounded, "I agree mostly. All I know is that love is hard. It's something you have to work at, and when that will to work dies, so does the love, but Kevin these aren't really third date topics."

"Oh, I'm aware, I just wanted to know. Get everything out in the open, and while I'm getting everything out I think there is something I should tell you. I have a kid. He's seven, and probably the cutest thing I've ever laid eyes on. His mom and I were never married. She made that choice, I wanted to do what I thought was the honorable thing, but we share custody. She gets him more than me, but that's okay because I have a pretty demanding job and I want him to grow up with a parent around all the time, not a sitter. I know it's a lot to digest so how about I get the check and drive you home?"

"Wow, I… I don't know what to say, alright, let's do that."

The car ride home was spent in a slightly uncomfortable silence. Kevin couldn't make up his mind on the radio station and Addison was too shocked to say much of anything. It wasn't that having a son was a bad thing, he clearly cared deeply about the child, but guilt was overtaking her. She should have told him everything about herself. She should have told him about Derek and Mark and possibly Alex. There was so much left to say. The fact that he'd opened up to her should have made her feel like it was easy to do the same, but it did the exact opposite. She knew how freaked out she was about a child, she could hardly imagine how Kevin would react if he knew she'd cheated on her husband with his best friend. To be quite frank with herself, she didn't want him to run, she liked him more and more as things progressed, and she didn't want whatever it was they were to end. Let him think she was perfect, so long as he didn't know the truth. Addison knew that was a horrible way to start a relationship, but she didn't know what else to do. When they got back to her place he opened her door and walked her up the steps. She gave him a hug and a quick kiss and walked inside her home. She stood standing by the door until she saw his car pull away at which point she quickly sank down against the wall. It wasn't the first time she'd regretted her actions, and it wouldn't be the last. All she needed was a moment to let the sadness in, and a glass of wine and she'd be fine in two hours tops.


	4. Chapter 4

Addison sat inside her huge walk in closet with her knees pulled up to her chest and her head tucked between her knees. She recalled the tornado drills during her elementary years at the prestigious Catholic school her parents had picked for her. That was the position you were safest in, and heaven knew she needed to feel safe again.

"You'd think the nuns would've pounded some morals into my head," she thought bitterly.

She lifted her head out from her legs slowly and stretched her neck, and then unfolded her legs and flexed her calves. She looked around at her collection of clothes, shoes, handbags, accessories. She'd been sitting there since three just staring at all the things she'd accumulated over the years, and judging by the light coming from the small window within her closet it was almost sunrise. It hadn't taken just two hours last night. It had taken the whole night. Yesterday was just one of those days that everything had caught up with her. The lousy marriage, the cheating, the leaving, some more cheating, being cheated on, a pregnancy, an abortion, her own leaving, some more lousy marriage, being cheated on at prom, a transcontinental booty call, divorce, more Mark, Alex, being told there would be no children for you. Some days it was simply just too much. She was feeling much better though and she knew that work would take her mind off everything completely. Addison stood up enjoying the stretching of her muscles, went to take off her makeup from the night before, and grab a hot shower. She still walked around her house naked after showering; it made her feel mischievous, so hair still wet she walked back into her sanctuary to pick out today's ensemble. After fifteen minutes of heavy mental debating she decided on a silky, knee length, three quarter sleeved dress with plunging a neckline that was composed of all her best colors. She topped it off with her favorite pair of black pumps, and a gold necklace. She curled her hair and did her makeup. She would look good no matter where Pete took her later. In her minor breakdown the night before she had almost completely forgotten about going to lunch with him that day, but when she had remembered she'd decided not to be nervous about it at all. She genuinely wanted to be his friend, and she thought this would be a good start. She was done picturing Pete as a potential… person because the likelihood of that happening was slim to none. That's not what Pete was interested in, and besides she had Kevin.

Pete had decided to go for his everyday look, a tee-shirt and worn out jeans. Although he was interested in more than being just friends with Addison, he really did want to get to know her, and he figured he didn't need to get all dressed up for that. He took his Harley to work that morning. Mostly because he doubted that Addison had ever been on one, and he wanted to show her a good time. Plus he had a very sexy image of Addison sitting on the back of his bike in heels with her arms around his waist. He shook the image from his head as he ran to catch the closing elevator doors. She was standing inside, of course. She looked beautiful as always, but there was something different today. A sort of sadness hung in her eyes that hadn't been there the day before. He wished it would leave, he didn't like seeing her unhappy, and he wanted to know what had put that look on her face.

"Hey, Addison, is there… something wrong? I mean are you okay?"

She gave him a small smile before answering, "Yea, Pete. I'm alright, thanks for asking."

"You're welcome Addie. I have a surprise for lunch."

She chuckled at his silly expression.

"Knowing you, that doesn't sound too safe."

"Don't worry, you'll be perfectly fine, but I hope you have a change of clothes, that dress probably isn't going to work very well in the position you'll be in," Pete said with a smirk.

"Now I'm really scared Pete. What are you doing with me," Addison questioned as the elevator doors dinged open.

"You'll see. Meet me down stairs at twelve, don't be late."

He walked away in that sexy gait of his and Addison simply couldn't help but watch his retreating figure.


	5. Chapter 5

It was twelve, and as promised Addison was waiting in the lower story of the Oceanside Wellness building in a pair of designer slacks and a flowing top. She'd been waiting for a few minutes when she spotted a Harley in the parking lot. She gasped. If that was her 'surprise' then so help her God, Pete was going to pay. Right on cue, Pete sauntered up to her.

"Hey Addie," he said with a mischievous smile while leading Addison out the doors and towards the steel monster.

"Oh no. No, no, no, no, no. I refuse."

"Come on Addison, it's fun and I promise not to drive over sixty."

Addison put on her best pout, "Pete, it's scary."

"I will not accept no as an answer, and besides I bet you've never even been on one so you wouldn't know if they were 'scary' or not."

A reminiscent look passed over her face as she recalled an old memory.

"Actually I have, but since you're giving me such a hard time, I will go."

Pete smirked at her, "I knew I'd win."

"Whatever you say buddy, but just so you know, I let you win, and you won't be so fortunate next time."

Pete laughed loudly before handing her a helmet, and then proceeded to climb onto the Harley. Addison mentally thanked herself for being paranoid about having a change of clothes located in her office at all times before doing the same.

"You ready?"

"As I'll ever be."

With that they were off. For the most part Pete kept his promise of driving slow, mostly because Addison kept constantly pleading with him to not kill her. He would have listened better had his senses not been clouded. He could feel her arms around his waist, her chin resting on his shoulder, her legs wrapped around his, plus he could smell her perfume. She was going to be the death of him. He slowed when the buildings surrounding them started to give way to a view of the ocean. He was taking Addison to his favorite restaurant. It had spectacular seafood and a great atmosphere. He would have loved to bring her back at night when they lit up the over-the-water seating, but he would have to settle for friendly lunches at the time being. He parked the motorcycle and they climbed off.

"I feel nauseous Pete."

Pete chuckled, "Oh Addison, I promise you'll be fine."

She gave him a death glare before answering, "Although I don't approve of your driving, I have a feeling I'm going to love this restaurant."

His eyes lit up before answering, "I try to come regularly. I usually cook for myself but it's nice to get out of the house every once in awhile."

"Pete cooks?" Addison thought to herself. That was pretty sexy.

They made their way inside and a woman took them to a table for two outside on the pier.

"This is beautiful Pete," Addison said sweetly.

"I'm glad you like it," Pete said with another smirk, "I'm curious, when was the first time you rode one?"

"It was a long time ago, me and… we were in med school and one of my friends got this idea to rent motorcycles and ride them out to my parent's house in the Hamptons because they weren't going to be there for a week during the summer, and we would have the place all to ourselves. A bunch of college kids and a full liquor cabinet? You can only imagine what we had in mind. Anyway, it was going great and we were having an amazing time on the bikes until mine decided to break down on some deserted rode. We might all be brilliant surgeons, but anything with a motor and we were clueless. We eventually got there with the help of someone I believe to be a hooker and had an awesome, drunken time, but naturally we opted to take a rental car back to the city."

Pete had a good chuckle before asking, "Who knew Dr. Montgomery had a wild side?"

"Oh buddy, if only you knew all the details. I was dating one of those motorcycle boys after all," she said with a wink.

Pete gaped for a moment, "and what ended up happening with your motorcycle friends?"

Addison paused awkwardly before being saved by a waitress asking for their order. After she left Pete tried again.

"How did things end between you and…?"

"Derek. His name is Derek Shepherd, and they didn't really end. We got married. The other man, Mark, had been Derek's best friend since the second grade. We were married for eleven years before we seperated."

"Oh… you know, I always assumed you had been married from the way you talked about it, but I never knew for sure. What happened between the two of you? I mean, why did you divorce?"

"That, my friend is a story for another day," Addison said with a tone that meant business.

They finished their lunch while chatting pleasantly. Their conversation never got very serious, and Addison liked it that way. She wasn't prepared to tell Pete about her past with her motorcycle buddies, and he didn't seem to want to talk about his deceased wife, so they just kept it light. He never even asked about Kevin. When she'd gotten to her office this morning, she's realized he had sent her a big bouquet of flowers. It was a sweet gesture. It was a way of saying, "Hey, I'm sorry I freaked you out by telling you I have a small child, please don't worry about it," but without words. Addison had started feeling better about things when she had gotten them. He was a very nice guy, and she had made the executive decision that she did, in fact, like Kevin. It was easy with him. It was comfortable. The bill came and Pete and Addison argued over who would pay. They ended up laughing when Pete finally won, making him two-zero. The pair walked to the Harley side by side and suited up. Addison kept complaining about having helmet hair, but Pete insisted that she'd still be beautiful no matter what her hair looked like. This caused her to blush, making their otherwise sexual tension free outing a bit awkward.

Still blushing a bit, Addison suddenly realized she was running late, "Oh damn Pete, I have a patient in ten minutes."

"Don't worry Addie, we'll get you there."

Pete kept his promise. They arrived at their building with a few minutes to spare.

"I had a great time Pete, thanks for taking me there, it was beautiful," Addison said with a large smile.

Pete couldn't help but smile back at her, she had that effect on him, "Thank you for coming, we should definitely have lunch again."

"That sounds great, I really gotta go, but we'll talk details later."

She offered him a parting hug and was on her way. Watching her retreating figure, Pete let out a sigh. Yes, she was definitely going to be the death of him.


End file.
